11.17.2006

Robot, heal thyself -- welcome to the future

Scientists said on Thursday they created a brainy, four-legged robot resembling a starfish that can sense damage to its body and, on its own, think up a way to recover.

Researchers Hod Lipson and Victor Zykov of Cornell University and Josh Bongard of the University of Vermont made a robot that observed its own motion using built-in sensors in its joints and then generated its own concept of itself, or at least its physical structure, in its internal computer.

I just love it when these far-fetched, breathless sci-fi, "the future is now" sounding reports get posted, then later on, when we can actually see these "miracle" robots, they look clumsy as hell. LOL! Chalk up one more to the superiority of mindless mechanical robots over the parade of unthinking, uncritical human reporters.

It doesn't really heal itself. If one of its actuators gets damaged then the robot learns to go on with only those that still work. Healing implies that the robot can repair itself which is not what this robots does.